Ram 6.4 Hemi & Cummins Test Drive

[mtofell1]

I'm currently in an 06 Duramax and it's been a great truck but as the miles tick upward I'm thinking of something new.

So, I just drove both the Ram 2500 6.4 and the 2500 Cummins back to back, same road/route.

Overall, both are great trucks. In the end I actually like the 6.4 better as a daily driver and am hopeful it will do okay towing my 8500lb TT. If I towed more I'd probably go for the Cummins.

The 6.4 was more "snappy" off the line and had good strong acceleration right up to 60. IMO that 6.4 is a really nice engine. The Cummins of course is no slouch but it just has more of a diesel feel to it. Up the hills of course the Cummins had way more punch.

The new rear coil springs are nice but the ride is still stiff and shaky at times as with any 3/4 ton truck. The ride was definitely better than my current Duramax but I'm trying to figure how much of that is just because my truck is 8 years old and has 140K on the clock??

I made it out without buying (salesman holding me at the ankles as I tried to walk away 🙂 ). I'm pretty strongly considering it. I may make a run at selling my Duramax private party rather than taking the bath at trade in. LOL.... they offered me $14,500 for my trade then quickly upped it to 20K when I laughed at them. From checking local prices I'm thinking I can get close to 25K

Anyhow, I'm not much of a brand loyalist but can tell you Ram is turning out some nice trucks. I think I test drove one probably 10 years ago but have otherwise never been too much of a fan. I've previously owned Ford, Toyota, Nissan and my current Chevy. I guess it's time to complete the circuit 🙂

[ChiefCook]

Received call from Chrysler rep Thursday. He told me my Truck left factory and crossed into US that day. Said all shipments were delayed due to weather in north and north east which caused shortage of railcars at factory. I wouldn't be upset if I hadn't been told by dealer that it shipped a month ago. The Ram vehicle order tracking system is a good idea up to production completion but once it goes to shipping status you are in the dark. My truck entered shipping status around January 27th. It will work out though as we just bought a new house and finished moving yesterday. No scratches or damage to new truck.

[sky_free]

A 2010+ Prius requires somewhere around 25HP (but probably less with low rolling resistance tires) to run at 75MPH on the flat with no wind, so it's far from wide-open.

[Hannibal]

It's a bit peppier than I thought it would be. It tops out at 111mph and will get there quick enough.

[transamz9]

Hannibal wrote:
I gave up and bought a Prius to use for work. You guys were right. Up to 75.5mpg city and 46~mpg interstate running 75~mph. At 2500~ miles a month, we're already seeing significant savings. Wife's using the truck now for her short commute and loves it. I should have done that years ago the first time some sarcastic SA said "if you want good mileage, buy a Prius". :B

WOW! 46 MPG running wide open? HAHA!! JK. If I didn't have my vehicle furnish to me with fuel I would also have a fuel effient car to rip and run in. My wife has a Bettle and it only does 23 mixed driving. She bought an 08 diesel beetle in 08 and loved the mileage (45-48) but got tired of shifting the gears in town. We drive the trucks on the weekend and towing only.

[mtofell1]

Hannibal wrote:
I wish HD pickups were EPA rated for fuel mileage. It's hard to get a real comparison as Ford guys say Rams get lousy mileage and Ram guys say Fords get lousy mileage. Too many variables too.

And that's the nicest thing they will say about each other 🙂

I am still comparing the Hemi 6.4 to the Ford 6.2 and leaning very heavily to the Hemi. From what I've been able to find online and in various pro road tests the Hemi gets a couple mpgs better. That, a couple more HP/Torque and the rear coils are what puts me towards the HEMI. I like the shoulder belt in the middle front seat position on the Ford as I sometimes have the wife and all 4 kids with me (we take the minivan if not towing since it can't pull the TT over a speed bump 🙂 )

Interior wise both are nice... for the models I'm looking at the Dodge is a bit nicer but is also about $1500 more.

[Hannibal]

I gave up and bought a Prius to use for work. You guys were right. Up to 75.5mpg city and 46~mpg interstate running 75~mph. At 2500~ miles a month, we're already seeing significant savings. Wife's using the truck now for her short commute and loves it. I should have done that years ago the first time some sarcastic SA said "if you want good mileage, buy a Prius". :B

[transamz9]

My first two tanks in my 13 Cummins have yielded 16.7 and 16.9 hand calc and that has been about 50/50 interstate and local stop and go. The wife has also been playing with the U-Connect remote start and stop from her phone too. LOL! Resetting the computer on straight highway trips it is showing right at 20. The computer has been dead on both times I have checked it by hand.

[mowin]

Hannibal wrote:
I wish HD pickups were EPA rated for fuel mileage. It's hard to get a real comparison as Ford guys say Rams get lousy mileage and Ram guys say Fords get lousy mileage. Too many variables too.

I agree way too many variables. I drive different than the next guy. My area is different than tbe next guys. I have no clue what a ford gets for mpg's, but my 2011 gmc 3500 drw with the 6.0 and 3:73 gears was lucky to get 10 empty on the hiway.

My 6.4 3500 ram is doing much better. I filled up and had a 45 mile stretch of hiway in front of me. Computer read 15.8 for the 90 mi round trip. Averaging 13.6 around the house, short trips with lots of hills.

[Hannibal]

I wish HD pickups were EPA rated for fuel mileage. It's hard to get a real comparison as Ford guys say Rams get lousy mileage and Ram guys say Fords get lousy mileage. Too many variables too.

[mtofell1]

Uh Oh..... you guys are scaring me.... I just sold my truck tonight and was going to go to the dealer to sign on one that was supposed to be on a railcar last week and at the dealer by the end of this week.

I can rent a vehicle for a week or so but that's about it. These 6.4 Hemi trucks seem to be catching on.

I briefly was on the fence about an F250 until I read some post about the low fuel mileage. Real world mixed driving people are getting 12ish. From what I read of the Hemi it's closer to 15 for the same type of driving.

[autorot8]

ChiefCook wrote:
I ordered a 2500 6.4 Megacab Laramie 4x4 on Jan 10th. Received email around Jan 27th stating it was built and in shipping atatus. It still has not been delivered. Dealer said it was delayed 2-3 weeks for 100% quality control inspection. I was told over 3 weeks ago that it had been loaded on railcar. Now the dealer says he cannot find out where the truck is or get an estimated delivery date. I hope everyone else has better luck than I have.

I ordered the same day as you. My sales person was able to email me the shipping status from Insight Network Logistics (Partner company with Union Pacific and Chrysler). It shows sitting in a railcar for over 10 days before moving. Mine should be headed to El Paso now, then hopefully on to California.

[ChiefCook]

I ordered a 2500 6.4 Megacab Laramie 4x4 on Jan 10th. Received email around Jan 27th stating it was built and in shipping status. It still has not been delivered. Dealer said it was delayed 2-3 weeks for 100% quality control inspection. I was told over 3 weeks ago that it had been loaded on railcar. Now the dealer says he cannot find out where the truck is or get an estimated delivery date. I hope everyone else has better luck than I have.

[ib516]

Whatchaupto wrote:
Congrats IB! Looking forward to hearing a towing report from you in a few months. What color did you select? Don

So as not to highjack this anymore, I posted more details on my own thread "Jumping off the diesel bandwagon". But...Silver 🙂

[mowin]

ib516 wrote:

mowin wrote:

ib516 wrote:
I just ordered a 2014 Ram 2500 6.4L Hemi, 4x4, crew cab, 4.10, laramie today

Congratulations. How long of a wait do you have?

6-8 weeks

Just in time to back up to the camper....